Chapter Five
A/N: It's a bit long, sorry...
Breakfast was over as quickly as possible. It was almost comical to see how fast everyone was eating.
"You're almost breathing the food down," the Mayor remarked. "Was it something I said?" He looked straight at Annie. "Something I did?"
"I look forward to seeing you when I get back, Sir," Annie spat. "Especially through prison bars."
"That's so precious," he laughed.
"Are we done here?" Finnick threw his napkin onto his plate as menacingly as he could make such an action. The others followed.
"I'll see you at the reaping, sir." Annie glared at him. "Then you better learn to sleep with one eye open when I win."
The group left the Justice Building and took Annie straight home.
"We can't tell your parents for fear of how they might react," Casio warned her. Annie clenched her jaw and fists but nodded.
"Annie, is that you?" Her mother called upon hearing the door open. Annie turned around and looked at them still standing outside her house. Casio's hand grasped the handle, ready to shut the door. She smiled sadly and waved goodbye.
"Cresta," Finnick whispered. He threw something towards her that she caught – a sugar cube. She smiled at him and he winked before Casio closed the door.
"Yeah, I'm here," Annie called back. Her mother rushed from the kitchen to hug and kiss her and asked for all the details. Annie told her everything she wanted her mother to hear.
"Are you okay? You look a bit worse for wear," her mother pressed a palm to Annie's forehead.
"I'm fine, I just had a bit too much wine," she smiled weakly.
"Do you want to have a nap?"
"No, I need to continue my training."
"We're so proud of you, honey," her mother smiled and hugged her once more. Annie allowed herself to feel the excitement build inside her and grinned.
She spent the rest of the day making traps and fires in her back garden and decided to sleep outside that night, to try to see ways she could make herself more comfortable in order to survive the nights in the arena. Of course, there was no guarantee that the nights in the arena would be similar to those in Four; it could be humid or sub-zero; windy or rainy. She could never be totally prepared but there was no harm in trying.
As she lay under the stars, she made a checklist of things she would most like to have in the arena. A sleeping bag and a water bottle were at the top of the list, alongside weapons and rope. She considered how far into the bloodbath she would have to delve for some daggers and if it was worth the risk. Would she follow tradition and form an alliance with the Career pack? Questions she hadn't thought of before raced through her mind, but she eventually fell asleep to an owl's lullaby and the fading warmth of the dimming embers.
Finnick came round for her again in the morning and sat next to her, humming, until she awoke. He looked around the garden at the various traps she'd made and smiled at her determination.
"Finnick," she whined, pulling the sleeping bag over her face.
"Good morning, Annie," he chuckled. She groaned and turned away from him. He laughed. "If you're not going training then neither am I, I don't mind a day off," he laid next to her, back to back.
"I don't mind either," she mumbled. He pretended to snore. Annie moved further down the sleeping bag. "Shut up," she whined. He turned to the Annie shaped lump next to him and snored louder, throwing an arm and a leg over her. She wriggled around. "You're crushing me!" She laughed. She didn't think he realised his arm was wrapped around her waist. She peeped through the top of the bag and looked at him, his eyes closed and a smile playing on his lips. Watching him sent a thrill through her body, being able to look at him properly without him knowing, to see what all the other girls saw in him for the first time. As his eyes fluttered open and met hers with a steady gaze, her heart jumped a little. She pushed the emotion down, down, down; now was not the time to develop a crush. Finnick's sudden mechanic movement seemed to have the same purpose. The creeping emotions between them both were not wise. Finnick jumped up and cleared his throat. "You've caught a rabbit," he pointed out.
"I did?" She beamed. She rushed over to one of her traps. "It actually worked!"
"The rest of them weren't sprung, either. That just means nothing came to investigate," Finnick inspected each of them. "Just leave them like this for the next few days before the Reaping and we'll see what else you catch."
Annie left Finnick to get ready quickly, and they took the rabbit to the academy so she could be taught how to prepare it. Finnick showed Tobias and Annie with skilled hands, but did it too fast for them to keep up. Tobias and Annie exchanged a bewildered glance and Finnick laughed.
"Let's go catch some rabbits," he suggested. They headed into the arena and set up traps. A few hours later, after working with Mags on survival and spending some time on target practice, they returned to find three had been caught. Finnick talked them through it again and made a fire to cook it on.
Casio came to check on how they were doing and Finnick told him about Annie sleeping outside that night. Tobias and Annie then decided to spend the night in the arena with Finnick and Mags.
"One of the best things you could possibly obtain is a sleeping bag, or at least a sheet of waterproof fabric to sleep under," Finnick told them as they set up camp. "You're gonna be safe in the bloodbath if you join the Careers, which I'd recommend. At the Cornucopia, look out for the rucksacks; a blue band on the strap means there's a waterproof sheet. Red is a sleeping bag. Both are a jackpot."
"So you think we should join the Careers?" Annie clarified.
"Of course," Finnick said, as if there was never going to be another option. "It's not about politics in there. My main concern is keeping you two alive as long as possible, and hopefully bringing one of you home. The Career pack will protect you until the last possible second. We'll talk tactic later. For now, I want you to set up camp, you're slacking!"
They had both stopped to listen to him and carefully finished preparing a place for each of them to sleep.
"Annie, go get some water," Finnick instructed. She stood up and gathered the water bottles but her mind was reeling - the only water in the arena that she knew of was at the shore and it wasn't suitable for drinking. She headed off in the search for a river or pond, following animal trails in the hope that they would lead her to a source. Sure enough, they did, and Annie filled up each bottle with the cool, clear liquid.
Back at the camp, Mags was already in a sleeping bag and Tobias and Finnick were wrestling. Annie sat and watched them carefully, wincing as Tobias slammed Finnick to the floor.
Finnick cursed and grasped his wrist.
"Finnick!" Annie didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned and his name escaped from her lips as a mixture of a laugh and a gasp. He didn't get up and lay cursing on the floor, so Annie moved next to him. She touched his cheek softly, "You okay?" She whispered. He opened his eyes and looked into hers, shaking his head. She took his wrist gently, and he cursed again.
"I think you've broken his wrist, Tobias," Annie bit her lip to stop her smile. "I'm sorry, I know it's not funny, I don't know why I'm laughing..."
Tobias was wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I'm so sorry man," he chuckled.
Annie was giggling too, and Mags woke up and asked them to be quiet. The next time Annie looked at them, Tobias and Mags were both fast asleep.
Finnick looked up at her and pouted. "You gonna kiss it better or what?" He was smiling too, a seductive smirk. Annie kissed his wrist delicately.
"All better," he whispered. "No, seriously, can you do something? I guess this will be good practice for the arena..."
Annie slipped her hand into his. "Can you move your fingers?" She whispered. "Try to hold my hand," she suggested. Their fingers entwined with a grimace and a moan of pain from Finnick.
"Okay, it's probably broken. We'll take you to the doctor tomorrow," she frowned. "The water is cool, it might ease the swelling a little. I'll get you a bottle. You can let go now," she murmured. She was blushing and lowered her head to hide it. He stroked her hand with his thumb and unfurled his fingers with a small sigh that Annie pretended not to hear. She got a water bottle and pressed it gently to his wrist and he winced but then relaxed. He held it to his wrist as Annie helped him get to his sleeping bag.
"I'm gonna find a bandage, then we'll get you to a doctor first thing tomorrow," she reaffirmed. He watched her rummage through her bag and carefully wrap the bandage around his wrist and fix a sling to support it.
"Try not to move..." She suggested. He smirked. "I'll try," he smiled sincerely. "Thank you, Annie."
"Anytime you break your wrist, come straight to me," she joked. She glanced at the sleeping Mags and Tobias. "Bed time," she whispered. She pulled her sleeping bag a little closer to him, not sure if he would notice. She lay next to him and they shared another tender smile, one that she would have loved to become accustomed to, before their eyes fluttered closed.
That morning, they woke to see the rest of their traps had been sprung and they prepared the rabbits with the help of Finnick. When Casio arrived to see how they had got on, he looked at Finnick's arm with shock and tried to hide his amusement.
"Well done, Tobias," he laughed. "Poor Finnick, being beaten on the virtual arena and now with a broken arm! It's lovely to have such strong tributes."
Finnick left to go to the doctor's house, leaving valuable time for the tributes with Mags in the arena. She progressed in complexity with traps and taught them how to catch birds in the trees.
"How do you know where to find water, Mags?" Annie asked. "I was bewildered last night, I just followed animal tracks."
"That's a good method. You can also press into the ground with a long stick, and as it gets softer, you know you're getting close. Be careful with the water you drink in the arena. It can't always be trusted. Take a piece of charcoal from your fire each night and keep it in your water bottle; it acts as a filter."
Annie really appreciated Mags. She didn't talk to her as Finnick did, or joke with her like Tobias did, but when she did have something to say, it was invaluable information that Annie knew would save her life.
Finnick came back in the afternoon with a cast on his arm.
"I'm so sorry, man," Tobias shook his head, smiling. "I have to admit, it feels kinda good that I've done that to a Victor. But I am sorry."
"Don't mention it, the pain is gone now. You should probably mention this to the Careers when you're training, what with me being a god to them all," he joked. "Where's Annie?" He said, looking around. Mags smiled.
Annie dropped carefully in front of him from a tree. "How you feeling, soldier?" She giggled at his startled face.
"Creeping up on me again, Cresta?" He clutched his heart comically. "I'm feeling fine, I'm drugged up and my arm feels like a statue."
"It's very becoming," she motioned to the cast. She grinned at Tobias, "Let's write on his cast, he can keep it in case either of us don't get out alive. We'll write something nice," she turned back to Finnick, "Something for you to mention at our funeral."
"No talk of funerals," he glared. "Positivity is key," he looked at them both. "Happy thoughts and gracious smiles, got it?"
They nodded obediently. The group packed away their things and went back to the academy to train.
Finnick sat by Annie's side on the bleachers at lunch and handed her a permanent marker. "Draw something," he smiled. She held his hand - solely to steady his arm, of course - and drew a sugar cube inside a love heart.
"I hope you won't forget me if I go. Tributes are probably pretty dismissible by now,"
"That's not true, it's been five years since I won and I remember every tribute I've trained. If you go, which I doubt, I won't ever forget you."
"I don't want to be another pawn to you," Annie murmured.
"Past tributes weren't pawns. But if they were knights, you're the queen," he squeezed her hand. "I've been meaning to ask you how you are, you know, since the Mayor..."
"Raped me?" Annie shrugged. "I'm kind of pushing it deep down, at this time I need to concentrate on not dying in the Games, maybe it will all spill out when I'm out of the arena. I will show Panem his true colours."
"If you need to talk, I'm here. We have tomorrow left and then it's the Reaping, you'll be away from the reminder and then when you come out, I'm going to protect you from him."
"Thank you, Finnick," she blushed. "Hey, maybe if I'm the queen then you're the king."
Tobias, Casio and Mags joined them and each drew something on Finnick's cast. Tobias drew an arm with protruding muscles to show his strength had caused Finnick's accident and wrote, "I'm sorry that I kicked your ass," whilst Casio drew a self-explanatory trident. Mags just drew a large, simple "x" for a kiss.
"I wondered if you guys wanted to come hang at mine tonight, to watch some videos of past Victors and pick up some tips?" Finnick asked. They both nodded enthusiastically. "It's number two in the Victor's Village. I'll cook pizza," he added, which was obviously the clinching point.
When they left the academy that evening, Annie ran straight home to get changed. She chose a black playsuit with a deep V-neck and let her hair hang loose for once.
"You look very pretty," her mother looked at her suspiciously. "Who are you trying to impress?"
"I just want to look nice," Annie said, hiding her blushing face. She suddenly felt stupid, because she knew she was trying to impress Finnick. She left for Victor's Village and knocked on Finnick's door. He opened it and grinned, "Hey, beautiful."
"Shut up," Annie laughed, but she felt pleased.
"You look lovely," he said. He took her into his living room.
"Your house is amazing," she said, looking around the room. The building was minimalistic and very modern, painted white with black accessories, such as a black leather couch, a high gloss plastic coffee table and black lampshades on black end tables. The roof was high and domed, with a large black chandelier ordaining it in the centre.
"Maybe you'll be living next door in a few weeks' time."
"I hope so!"
"Would you like some wine?" He offered.
"Sure," she took the glass and thanked him. "That's a big TV," she motioned towards it. "Are you compensating for something?"
"Absolutely not, I assure you," he smirked.
"That's good to know," Annie bit her lip as he moved closer. He took the glass of wine from her hand and placed it on the table. "What are you thinking?" He whispered. Her heart was racing. She glanced up from his lips into his eyes. His hand found her waist and his lips were so close to hers, when a knock on the door brought them back to the real world.
"I'm sorry," he stuttered, stepping away immediately. "After everything you've been through too, that was awful of me," he shook his head and left to open the door. Annie groaned and flopped onto the couch, draining her glass of wine.
"Hey Cresta," Tobias grinned.
"Yo," she greeted.
"What's wrong?" He asked. Finnick closed the door behind him and seemed ashamed.
"I'm just tired, I didn't sleep great in the arena last night. I'm pretty sure I was laid on top of a rabbit hole, too..."
"You'll be in your own bed tonight," he sat next to her and took the wine Finnick offered him. "I hate this stuff," he grimaced as he sipped it.
"Want a beer?" Finnick asked. "I'm more a wine man myself, but I definitely saw a crate out back."
Tobias declined politely but Finnick got him one anyway. He turned on the TV and chose the highlights package.
"You have cable?" Tobias raised his eyebrows. "Man, I can only get one channel and that's Capitol TV."
"That's the only channel anyway," Finnick laughed. "But this package just lets me choose anything that's been on in the past."
"What's your favourite film?" Annie asked.
"You think I like this Capitol garbage?" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "There's a secret store in the Capitol that sells films and books from before the Dark Days, but I couldn't choose a favourite."
"You're into literature?" She asked, interested.
"Absolutely. I wish I could show you some of the greats from the past. The Capitol approved plays and novels are just remakes," he looked at her wistfully.
"Finnick Odair has a tender side, who'd have known?" She muttered.
He tapped the sugar cube on his cast. "You sound like the arrogant Annie that had never eaten a sugar cube in her life!"
"Thank God you came along to change me, huh?" She snapped. Tobias whistled through his teeth. "Shall we watch the Games?" He suggested. Finnick sighed and played the programme, which was presented by Caesar and Claudius and showed the best moments from all sixty nine Hunger Games so far, and lasted an impressive twenty four hours, meaning each Game had a relatively compact analysis.
"We're not watching it all, of course. I'll skip to the last couple of hours so they're the most recent Victors," Finnick murmured.
They sat in silence and watched intently, with Finnick occasionally chipping in with tactical advice. Tobias left to go to the bathroom and Finnick took her hand with his good arm. When she looked at him, he just winked and grinned. She rolled her eyes and they both laughed, Finnick pulled her to his chest and she rested his head on his shoulder. He held her tight for a few seconds and they slipped apart as Tobias came through the door. They continued watching the Games and Finnick smiled as Annie's head found his shoulder once more. The next time he looked at her, she was fast asleep and the documentary had ended, so he scooped her up into his arms and carried her home, walking with Tobias in a comfortable silence. When they reached Annie's house, her mother came to the door and smiled at the sight of her sleeping daughter. "It reminds me of when she was younger and she'd fall asleep on the couch when we were watching the Games," she whispered. She led Finnick to Annie's room and watched as he laid her down and pulled the covers over her.
"Your daughter is a fighter," he murmured. Her mother poured him a glass of wine when they were downstairs.
"She's always been such a brave little girl," she smiled fondly. "She always understood the Games' importance, she saw her brother as a fallen soldier - a warrior - and since then she wanted to complete what he couldn't."
"She'll do it," Finnick said confidently. "When I'm with her I feel different, something I've never felt with any other tribute. It almost makes me pity Tobias; he has a good chance but he's missing the spark Annie has. You see it in her eyes when she's fighting, her brow when she's concentrating, her laugh when she's driving Casio crazy, her smile when she's proud of herself. Maybe the spark is her brother living on."
This moved Annie's mother to tears. "Thank you for everything you've done for her," she managed. "I hope that, whatever happens, you'll stay in our lives."
"You can count on it," Finnick assured. "Whatever happens, she'll make Panem proud, she'll make Four proud, she'll make the academy proud, she'll make me proud and, more importantly, she'll make you proud."
"Look after my little girl while she's away, son," Annie's father joined them in the kitchen. "She looks up to you, though she'd never admit it."
"I will, sir. I'll bring her home, alive and kicking."
Finnick headed home soon after that, and flicked through the post from the past few days that he hadn't read yet. There was mainly fan mail, which boosted his ego, some letters from 'lovers' disclosing secrets, and a few information leaflets from the Capitol. He found a note from Xena detailing when she would arrive and groaned - no wonder she'd been barely civil with him when she arrived: he didn't go to meet her. The poor woman had been forced to spend the days preceding the Reaping with the Mayor, a man she now found intolerable, in contrast to the lust she had felt in previous years.
Finnick realised that it was the last day before the Reaping as the clock struck two in the morning and decided to head to bed. When he woke up, it was past lunchtime and he cursed for not being of any use to Annie or Tobias. However, when he turned his head he saw a pile of pancakes covered in syrup, a cup of coffee and a love heart made from sugar cubes. He smirked and read the note that accompanied - everyone was in his back garden training. It was another gorgeous summer day and he took his breakfast (or was it brunch?) outside to eat.
Annie waved at Panem's currently topless sex god and he smiled. She was spurring with Tobias, carrying out the same graceful and impressive leaps and attacks that she had carried out on Finnick the first time they met. It seemed like such a long time ago, now.
When Tobias surrendered, she bounded over to the table where Finnick sat and drank a large glass of water. She kissed Finnick's cheek and simply grinned at him before running back to Tobias and he watched her, mesmerised, as she treated the fight as nothing more than two friends playing.
After a while, Annie collapsed panting to the ground and high fived Tobias.
"Water," she called to Finnick. He grabbed the jug.
"Water what?" He smirked, sidling over. Annie glared at him playfully. "Water now," she opened her mouth.
"Water, please!" He emphasised.
"Water now!" She insisted, screaming as the icy water spilt over her body. "Finnick!" She squealed.
Tobias laughed and grabbed Finnick's hosepipe, spraying Annie too. She danced in the jet of water. She felt free, excited, young and capable - capable of anything. She span around and fell into Finnick's arms and to her, the spinning world consisted only of Finnick and Annie. He was her motivation to win; not unearthing the Mayor, or making Four and the academy and Panem and her parents proud, but to live - maybe in number three, Victor's Village, maybe one day in number two - to live in a world that she shared with Finnick.
He pulled her back to her feet and said, "Let's dry our tributes off and get them to prep."
Tobias turned the tap off and grabbed a towel from Finnick, who had draped them over the arm with a cast. Tobias threw it around Annie's shoulder and rubbed her arms. "You looked amazing last night all done up, but you looked even more amazing soaked to your bones and dancing like you we're drunk," he told her.
"Macho Tobias has a sensitive spot!" Finnick joked. "We tell Annie she's beautiful far too often, I think she's developing an ego."
"You can never tell a girl she's beautiful too often, Finnick, you should keep that in mind!" Tobias retorted.
"I feel like Finnick Odair," Annie snorted. "I'm Panem's sex goddess, everyone wants to sleep with me!"
"That's just part of the prize, baby!" Tobias smirked. "Girls, money and parties, that's the dream."
"Can you really imagine Annie partying?" Finnick laughed. "I had to carry her home after a couple of wines last night."
Annie blushed. "Okay, okay... Ego deflated!"
"Let's go make you girls pretty for tomorrow," Finnick suggested. Xena was, as promised, waiting in Finnick's living room. "My, Finnick, you've redecorated since the last time I was here. Do you remember?" She had a suggestive smile playing on her lips. Annie frowned. Finnick ignored her question.
"Tobias is dry so you can start on him."
"Go show Annie how to use your shower, her hair is too knotted for us to work with."
Annie wondered who 'us' was, and right on queue there was a knock on the door with the rest of the stylist team, fresh from the Capitol.
"This is only half of them," Xena said in an apologetic tone. "We couldn't get them all over."
Annie felt a thrill of excitement and grinned at Finnick as he put his arm around her towel covered body and lead her upstairs.
"I didn't know we got prepped for Reaping," she gave an excited, girlish squeal. Finnick rolled his eyes and pushed her into the bathroom, "Go get clean," he laughed. His shower was typically high-tech Capitol technology, the same as in the academy, with buttons to press for different settings. The water pulsed down onto her body and she smiled as she pressed the button that seemed to have the most wear. The writing had worn considerably, presumably from Finnick Odair pressing the same button every morning. His smell poured over her as she washed her hair and body. When she'd finished, she pressed a button that blasted hot air at her to dry her, and brushed her hair until it was smooth and knot-free.
She slipped back into her damp clothes for modesty's sake and regrettably left the heat of Finnick's bathroom.
"Oh, come here," he laughed. "You just got clean and dry, we don't want you in those clothes."
He led her into his bedroom, "Excuse the mess," he apologised. His room was spotless apart from an unmade bed. He gave her a t-shirt and found a pair of women's shorts. Annie felt uncomfortable due to the connotations of him having women's clothes in his room, made worse by her asking whose they were and he told her he couldn't remember with a chuckle.
"I probably have your size in underwear too," he offered, somewhat sincerely.
"That's so disgusting," she grimaced. He smirked. She glared at him. "I'll go get changed."
She went into his en suite and was thankful that his t-shirt dropped to just above her knee. There was no way she'd wear those shorts. She returned to him and he took the towel and wet clothes from her with his good arm.
"I'd rather go naked than wear these," she dropped the shorts into his arms. He raised an eyebrow and his eyes dropped to her legs as she left the room. She was at once thrilled and repulsed.
She went down to the kitchen and the prep team started on her. Her long hair was straight from her brushing it dry and one of the stylists, a woman named Sioux, curled it softly. It took a while due to the thickness of her hair and when it was done, they propped her legs onto a chair in front and smothered them in cream that would apparently kill the roots of her hair, as her legs were already smooth. Their hands were moving further and further up her legs and her underwear was eventually removed and tossed carelessly towards Finnick, who wasn't watching but was nearby. Annie blushed furiously and couldn't cover her face as someone was painting her nails. Even Finnick looked embarrassed, and Annie was inwardly grateful that the underwear she'd worn that day was pretty.
The hands were unrelenting and Annie's blush just intensified as the cream was applied everywhere, with no boundaries it would seem. The cream was finally applied to her underarms as her manicure was finished. They left her lying there awkwardly, arms outstretched and legs spread. Thankfully, Finnick was talking to Tobias and not looking at her. After ten minutes, they rinsed the cream off and she was presented with a choice of outfits. Ordinarily, she would have picked something athletic and comfortable, but recently she'd begun to enjoy dressing in a feminine way and so picked a pretty blue summer dress and a mint green cardigan in case it was cool in the morning. Her shoes were red satin flats and had a line of studs around the opening.
It was approaching six o'clock now, and Finnick had begun cooking a stir-fry. Annie persuaded Xena to let her wear one of the outfits she hadn't picked- floral jeans and an off the shoulder white t-shirt.
A knock on the door signalled the arrival of Casio and the parents of Tobias and Annie, along with Mags.
"Annie, lovely to meet you!" Tobias' father kissed her cheek.
"You too," she smiled politely. It was strange meeting the parents of someone who would be both her ally and her competition.
"My, I remember when you two were just starting the academy, I meant to bring the class photo!" His mother enthused. Annie's parents greeted Tobias and Finnick invited them to sit at the table and poured them all a glass of wine. Annie insisted that she would help him serve the food and as she stood scooping the stir fry onto the plates he came behind her and placed a hand on her waist as he leant over to put a jug of fresh lemonade on the table.
"You smell like me," he murmured as his lips brushed past her ear. She blushed and followed him into the kitchen to put the dish into the sink. He smiled at her and she tried to act blasé. "I just pressed a button, don't read into it..."
"Sure you did," he winked.
"I did!" She protested. He stepped closer and poked her ribs, repeating the word, "Sure," as if he didn't believe her. She continued to insist that it was a coincidence as he began to tickle her. She was squealing and telling him to stop but he carried on until they simultaneously noticed a looming figure watching them.
"Mr Mayor," Finnick said coldly, stepping between the Mayor and Annie protectively. "I didn't know you were coming, there's not enough food or chairs for you."
Annie turned away and pathetically wondered if her food was going cold. The Mayor was being overly polite, pardoning himself for intruding, but Annie knew the real reason he was here was to unnerve her. When he left and stood in the dining room, Finnick pulled Annie into his arms silently, kissing her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought to control the tears.
"You're trembling," he murmured. He lifted her chin up and brushed hair from her face. "It's okay, he won't hurt you again."
"I'll hurt him," she whispered. "I'll bring him down."
"Focus on winning first and foremost," he took her hand and squeezed it softly. "Then we can decide what happens next."
"Our food is probably cold," she laughed weakly. He held her for a few more seconds and they went to the dining room, apologising. Everyone was finished but stayed and talked about their pride and excitement.
After the meal, Finnick brought out strawberry mouse in individual glasses, each adorned with a crown of fresh strawberries. They ate it in the living room, with Finnick playfully feeding Annie strawberries because he didn't like them.
"You don't like strawberries but you like strawberry mousse?" Annie laughed.
"I'm an enigma," he winked, slipping another strawberry between her lips.
Annie noticed Mags watching and smiling and for the first time realised they'd spent all evening in their own little bubble of conversation. The past day or so had been relatively stress free and she enjoyed his company more than she enjoyed training and fighting.
"Let's head home, Nennie," her dad called. "It's a big day tomorrow!"
"Nennie?" Finnick smiled softly. They went into the kitchen together to get her jacket.
"I couldn't say Annie when I was little, it's stupid," she blushed.
"I like it," he murmured, close to her lips once again.
"Where's my underwear?" She blurted out by accident. Finnick laughed and kissed the hand he was holding.
"I'm not keeping it, I'm not that much of a creep. I put it in the wash," he was actually blushing.
"Oh shoot, I better get my clothes!" She ran upstairs quickly, explaining to her parents.
She rifled through Finnick's laundry basket. A shadow appeared over her.
"Can I help you with anything?" The Mayor's voice, low and ominous, crept through the room and sent shivers down her spine.
"Just finding the clothes I was wearing earlier," she tried to keep her voice measured and to appear calm.
"I was wondering if we could talk," his voice was a snake, low and suggestive.
"Oh, I've found them, I guess I'll talk to you when I win," she stood up and turned for the door but he had her cornered, pushed back against the wall.
"Finnick," she croaked.
"For a girl who's meant to be so strong, you use that boy's name like a prayer," he snarled.
She tried to call him again, her voice more powerful this time.
Downstairs, Finnick had been making conversation with Annie's parents and hadn't thought anything of the Mayor striding upstairs. However, the sound of Annie's desperate voice caused him to run upstairs without even thinking.
Without hesitating, he grabbed the Mayor by the collar with his broken arm and punched him so hard with his fully functioning fist that Annie heard a gruesome crunching. Blood spilled onto Finnick's cream carpet and the Mayor groaned and struggled to get up off the floor.
"I came here to warn you," he pointed at Annie, "about the power I hold and who I can destroy if you tell anyone about that night."
He staggered downstairs and they heard the front door slam and Finnick's keys rattle in the lock.
"Don't listen to him, I'm gonna talk to President Snow tomorrow, I'll have him removed," Finnick touched her cheek tenderly.
"I can't believe you just did that," she gasped.
"I can't believe he came to my house uninvited and threatened you," his face was stony and serious. She smiled slightly.
"Finnick," she sighed softly. She went onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her.
"Go and get some rest, Nennie," he smiled.
"Okay," she stepped over the Mayor's blood. "And don't you dare think you can call me Nennie. Think of something else, anything but that."
"Sleep tight," he smirked. Their gaze lingered for a few seconds until she finally went downstairs to her parents.
"What the hell just happened?" Her dad asked, shocked.
"We had a slight altercation with the Mayor," she smiled.
"Be careful, Annie," her mother took her hand lovingly.
"We have it under control," Annie assured her. They walked home, arms linked, in a comfortable silence.
"We're so proud of you," her dad reminded her.
"I know, and I'll do you both proud," she promised. "And Harmon, of course. You won't need another medal, I'll have a crown."
Her mother wiped away her tears and hugged Annie tight. "Get some rest, we love you," she murmured.
Annie went upstairs and looked at her reflection, grinning. She slipped out of her clothes and into bed, dreaming of almost-kisses and the Mayor's blood.